Impulse generator



May 22, 1945.

R. H. SEVERANCE IMPULSE GENERATOR Filed Jan. 21, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 May 1945. R H SEVERANCE 2,376,557

IMPULSE GENERATOR Filed Jan. 21, 1944 '2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented May 22, 1945 as PATEifiT orrics Application January 21, 1944, Serial No. 519,144

7 Claims.

This invention relates to electric impulse generators, and more particularly to that type of impulse generator which develops a sudden surge of voltage when an armature is suddenly moved from a pole of one polarity to a pole of an opposite polarity.

In the known types of such generators, when used to supply current in response to the operation of a trig er. a current is produced both on the depression and on release of the trigger. This is at times undesirable and unsafe. It is accordingly an object of this invention to provide an impulse generator of the above stated type in which the armature may be snapped ortriggered from one position to the other to create only one impulse of current when the actuating means or trigger is depressed and released, wherein the generator is always in condition to generate or release one surge of current and one only when the actuator or trigger is depressed and released.

Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein: v

Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of an electric trigger embodying the invention:

Figure 2 is a view in end elevation of the device Oi e1;

Figures 3 and 4 are somewhat enlarged views in vertical section taken along the line 8-8 of Figure 1,, but showing the parts in different positions of operation;

Figure 5 is a view in section taken substantially along the line 5-5 of Figure 2;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary view in section taken substantially along the line 6-8 of Figure 1;

Figures 7 to 10 are fragmentary views similar to Figure 6 or a part thereof, and showing the parts in different positions or operation;

Figure 11 is a view in perspective of a cam forming part of the mechanism for actuating the armigure of the electric trigger shown in Figures 1 to Figure 12 is an enlarged view in perspective of the armature with the cam follower which is actuated by the cam of Figure 11; and

Figure 13 is a fragmentary view in section taken substantially along the line l8l8 of Figure '12.

As shown in the drawings, a device embodying the invention may comprise a permanent magnet or magnets 2 having north and south poles, the north pole being provided with a platelike extension i and the south with a plate-like extension 8, the extensions 4 and B being made 01' soft iron or other material of high magnetic susceptibility. The magnets are clamped between the pole plates ii and 8 by means of screws or bolts 8. Pole shoes ill and 12 are secured, in spaced relation, to the inner surface of the plate slide cam 46.

t and a similar pair of pole shoes it and II are secured tn the inner surface of the pole plate i in opposed and aligned relation to the pole shoes iii and i2. A hollow coil i8 is mounted between the opposed pairs of pole shoes and an armature bar 20 extends through the coil and between opposite pole shoes. This armature is solely supported by the magnetic forces acting in the gaps between the pole shoes, and is held in the positions shown in Figures 3 and 4, sidewise by the magnetic holding force of the pole shoes with which it is in contact and endwise by the outer one of the posts 8 and cam 40 through part 22 and 48.

The armature carries a resilient operating rod or heavy wire 22 having the properties of a strong spring so that when it is deflected at the end remote from the armature from a position on one side of the plane of the armature to the other side, a spring force is built up therein which snaps the armature from one position to the other. Wires M and 28 extend from opposite ends of 0011 it for connection to the firing device or electrical load to be supplied by the generator. One of the side plates is extended beyond the other and bent inwardly for attachment to the depending flange Of a mounting bracket 28. Trigger 30 is pivotally mounted on the depending flange of the bracket 28 and in pivotal relation to the plate attached to that bracket. A trigger guard 32 secured to the bracket encloses the trigger 30. A link 34 is pivoted at one end as at 83 to the trigger and at the other end as at 38 to cam actuating and holding means to, by means of which the rod or stiii wire 22 is deflected and held in deflected position as the trigger 30 is operated and released. The cam 40 is slidably mounted in aligned grooves oz in the side plates d and B. The cam is urged to the position shown in Figure 1 and in full lines in Figure 6, in which the trigger is reset, by a spring M coiled about one of the attaching screws 8 and having one and overlying and engaging the cam i0 and the other end secured in any convenient manner to a side plate, as by bending one end of the spring through an opening 46 in said side plate.

The armature rod or stifi' wire 22 has journaled on its outer end a block 48 having a cam follower or slide Bil secured thereto. The cam follower operates in cam grooves in the inner face of the The cam 40 is provided on its inner face with inclined intersecting cam grooves 52 and 54, the groove 52 causing the follower and, hence, the armature rod to move from left to right, as seen in Figure 6, and from the full line toward the dotted line position when the cam is raised to its uppermost position by depression of the trigger. The cam groove 56 causes the follower and, hence, the armature rod to be deflected from the right to the left. as seen in Figure 6, or from the dotted toward full line position on the next depression of the trigger. Below the point of intersection of the two grooves 52 and 54, the cam has open areas so that the cam follower will not be constrained to move along these grooves while the cam is moving downwardly under the action of the spring 44 and after release of the trigger. Thus the cam is provided with recessed or relieved areas 58 and 58 above the cam surfaces 50 and 62 which constitute extensions of the walls 64 and 66 of the grooves 52 and 54. The opposite walls 68 and of the grooves 52 and 54 are not extended below the point of intersection of the grooves. The material or pieces which form the wall 64 and 66 of the grooves 52 and 54 are formed along their lower edges with transverse cam edges or sur aces! and II, respectively, and inclined cam surfaces i2 and 14, respectively, substantial parallel to the surfaces 64 and 66. The pair of am surfaces 64 and i2 and the pair of cam surfaces 65 and M terminate inwardly of the side walls formed by the pole extension side plates 4 and 6 to permit the material or pieces forming these cam surfaces to pass by the cam follower as the cam is lowered automatically on the release of the trigger.

The armature rod or wire is guided for movement in a plane transverse of the path of movement of the cam by a pair of spaced pins 16, best seen in Figures 1 and 5, which extend between the side plates 4 and 6.

For reasons of safety and timing, it is essential that on releasing or resetting of the trigger there should be no generation of firing impulses. This is accomplished by the construction described.

which operates in the following manner: On depression of the trigger the slide cam All is moved from the left to the right, as seen in Figure 1, or from a lower to an upper posit on as seen in Figures 6 to 10. As the cam moves upwardly, as shown in Figure 6, from its full line toward its dotted line position, it causes the cam follower to move horizontally, as seen in that figure, toward and then past the central vertical plane of the earn as the follower passes through the point of intersection of the cam grooves 52 and 54. This central plane of the cam is coincident with the center of the gap between the opposed sets of pole shoes. This movement of the cam follower, of course, causes deflection of the armature rod or stiff wire 22 by applying a torsional or bending strain thereto. ment of the armature 20 is, however, restrained by the magnetic force of attraction of the pole shoes with which it is already engaged.

The cam follower 50 is so dimensioned that it clears the intersection of the cam grooves 52 and 54 before the armature is snapped, from the position of Figure 3 to the position of Figure 4 in which it engages the other diagonally opposite pair of pole shoes, by reason of the energy stored in the armature rod during the movement of the cam follower to the point of intersection of the cam grooves 52 and 54. The instant that the armature snaps from engagement with one diagonally opposite pair of pole shoes to the other pair of diagonally opposite pole shoes, a surge of current is produced, which surge of current is fed to the energy absorbing device which is to be energized in response to the actuation of the trigger 30.

The cam follower having cleared the intersection of the cam grooves 52 and 54, the trigger The movemay be released or may be continued to the full limit of movement of the cam slide, in which latter event the cam follower, held in engagement with the cam surface 62 by the spring action of the armature rod, is moved to the dotted line position shown in Figure 6, the cam assuming its limited position indicated in dotted lines in said figure. On release of the trigger, after th cam has reached such limited position, or on release immediately after the cam follower has cleared the intersection, the cam will be moved to the left, as seen in Figure 1, by the spring 44, or downwardly by said spring, as shown in Figures 6 to 10. On such downward movement of the cam, the surface H engages a rounded end of the cam and swings it to the transverse position shown in Figure 7 and then to the position shown in Figure 8, in which the side edge of the cam follower enages the inclined cam surface 14, which forces the follower farther to the right until it sufliciently extends beyond this cam surface to permit it to swing into the vertical position shown in Figure 9.

As the cam completes its downward or resetting movement, as seen in these figures, the cam face i0 engages the cam follower and swings it into a position in alignment with the cam groove 54, the spring action of the armature rod holding the cam follower against the surface 10 so that, on subsequent operation of the trigger and consequent movement of the cam upwardly, as seen in Figures '7 to 10, the follower will be moved inwardly by this cam groove. On the next such operation of the trigger, the cam follower will, therefore, be moved by the cam groove 54 inwardly until, after it clears the intersection, the armature is snapped from one position to the other to generate a surge of current. Then, on release of the trigger, the cam moving upwardly, the follower first engages the surface 69, by which it is swung on the armature rod into position against the cam surface 12, by which it is moved outwardly until it clears this cam surface and engages the cam surface 68 of the cam groove 52, by which it is turned and aligned with that cam groove, but held in the position to which it was moved by the trigger operation. The force of the spring 44, as exerted on the cam, being greater than the force exerted on the cam by the resilient force of the armature rod when it is in its fully deflected position, the cam will of course hold the armature in that position and the armature rod will not move the cam out of its normal triggering position.

It is evident that some means must be used to prevent the armature rod or spring from springing back to its starting position when the cam follower crosses the central plane or the center line of the intersection of the slots. This is accomplished by having the cam follower about three times as long as the width of the slot so that it is forced by the cam surfaces and 52 to continue its movement in the same direction.

It will be evident from the foregoing description that applicant has provided an impulse generator which develops a sudden surge of voltage when the armature is suddenly moved from a poleof one polarity to a pole of an opposite polarity; in which the armature may be snapped from one position to the other to create only one impulse of current when the trigger is depressed and released, and wherein the generator is always in condition to generate or release one surge of current, and one only, when the trigger is depressed and released.

It is obvious that numerous changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the device without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention or sacrificing any of its attendant advantages, the form herein described being a preferred embodiment for the purpose of illustrating the invention.

What I claim is:

1. An electric impulse generator comprising, in combination, a magnetic structure having a plurality of oppositely disposed pole faces of opposite polarity, an armature movable between said pole faces, spring operating means secured to said armature and through which force may be applied to cause'the armature to break away from a pole face of one polarity and take its position on an oppositely disposed pole face of the other polarity, a coil inductively coupled to said armature whereby voltages are induced in said coil by such change in position of said armature, an automatically resettable trigger for operating said spring means, and means connecting said automatically resettable trigger to said spring means for moving said spring means in one direction on operation of the trigger and holding the armature during resetting of the trigger in the position to which it was moved by the spring means on operation of the trigger.

2. An electric generator comprising, in combination, a magnetic structure having a plurality of oppositely disposed pole faces of opposite polarity, a movable armature supported between said pole faces, spring operating means through which force may be applied to cause the armature to break away frompole faces of one polarity and take its position on oppositely disposed pole faces of the other polarity, a coil inductively coupled to said armature whereby voltages are induced in said coil by such reversal in position of said armature, automatically resettable con trol means, and means automatically connecting said control means to said spring means when said control means is operated and releasing said spring means from said control means when said control means is reset.

3. An electric impulse generator comprising, in combination, means for providing a magnetic field, a movable armature supported in one or the other of two positions in which the flux of the field passes therethrough in one direction or in the opposite direction dependent upon the position occupied by the armature, a coil inductively coupled to said armature, spring operating means supported solely by said armature whereby force may be applied to cause the armature to snap from either one of 'its two positions to the other,

an automatically reset trigger, and coupling means between said trigger and spring operating means for snapping said armature once only on operation and reset of said trig er.

4. An electric impulse generator comprising, in combination, a pair of spaced mounting members, a pair of pole pieces of opposite polarity mounted on said spaced members, an armature movable between said pole pieces, a coil inductively coupled to said armature whereby voltages are induced in saidcoil upon the movement of the armature from one pole piece to the other, a resilient operating rod carried by said armature, a cam slidably supported on said spaced members for movement at right angles to the path of movement of the armature, a resettable trigger connected to said cam for moving it in one direction on depression of the trigger and moving it in the opposite direction on resetting of the trigger, said armature rod having a cam follower, said cam having cam grooves for receiving said follower and moving said armature rod in one direction only on depression and resetting of the trigger.

5. An electric impulse generator comprising, in combination, a pair of spaced mounting members, a pair of pole pieces of opposite polarity mounted on said spaced members, an armature movable between said pole pieces, a. coil inductively coupled to said armature whereby voltages are induced in said coil upon the movement of the armature from one pole piece to the other, a

resilient operating rod carried by said armature,

a cam slidably supported on said spaced members for movement at right angles to the path of movement of the armature, a resettable trigger connected to said cam for moving it in one direction on depression of the trigger and moving it in the opposite direction on resetting of the trigger, said armature rod having a cam follower, said cam having a pair of cam grooves for receiving said follower and moving the armature rod first in one direction and then in the other on succeeding depressions of the trigger, and cam faces which during the resetting of the trigger act on the cam follower to hold the armature in' the position to which it was moved by the immediately preceding depression of the trigger.

6. An electric impulse generator comprising, in combination, means for providing a magnetic field, a movable armature supported in one or the other of two positions in which the fiux of the field passes therethrough in one direction or in the opposite direction dependent upon the position occupied by the armature, a coil inductively coupled to said armature, spring operating means supported solely by said armature whereby force may be applied to cause the armature to snap from either one of its two positions to the other,

. an automatically reset control means, and means operatively associated with said control means for applying force in the same'direction to said spring means during operation and reset of said control means whereby said armature is moved once only on operation and reset of said control means.

'7. An electric impulse generator comprising, in combination, means for providing a magnetic field, a vibratory armature supported in one or the other of two positions in which the fiu'x of the field passes therethrough in one direction or in the opposite direction dependent upon the position occupied by the armature, a coil inductively coupled to said armature, a spring member supported at one end by said armature and movable at its other end to spring tensioning positions on opposite sides of a neutral position thereby to snap the armature from either one of its two positions to the other, automatically resettable tri ger control means, and means operatively associated with said trigger control means for moving said other end of the spring member between said spring tensioning positions on operation of said control means and'for holding said other end of the spring member against reverse movement to the neutral position on the automatic resetting of said control means whereby said armature is moved once only on operation and reset of said trigger control means.

. RALPH H. SEVERANCE. 

